Snow Way Out AU
by Kittykat1418
Summary: What if Misty had followed Ash during the episode? What would change as our two protagonists try to stay warm together? Rated T for drama and some blood. Pokeshipping story (Sorry for the crap description and name, couldn't think of anything else really)


Alright, hi everyone. I've never wrote a one-shot, but I do hope that it works out. Here's an alternate universe where Misty had followed Ash and Pikachu in the episode Snow Way Out

* * *

"Pikachu!" was the scream Ash made as he chased after his blown away Pokemon, he was running straight into the pounding blizzard and into the cold of the upcoming night. More wind and snow hammered down and covered the tracks he left, as he continued to scream out the name of his beloved starter and friend. He wasn't going to let Pikachu get hurt and even potentially die due to the freezing weather.

"Wait!" he could hear Misty's desperate cries, wanting him to come back and stay warm. Brock had tried to stop here, by saying that they'd get lost. But what he hadn't expected though was for her to throw out the coat and run forward into the blizzard after the boy and his Pikachu. Unlike Ash, without her blanket, she was freezing. Her clothes barely covered her, leaving her legs, arms and even her midriff exposed to the elements. Yet, she attempted to ignore the frost bite as it built up on her fingers and turned them into an icy blue. "Ash-ah!" her scream was muffled as she fell over, cutting her arm on a rock that was hidden by a built-up snow. Though, she lifted her head and tried to scream once again "Ash…help me! Ash!"

It felt like forever when she finally heard something, having refused to move as she felt too cold to do anything. "Pikachupi!" she knew that cry, it was Ash's Pikachu calling out to her. Yet, when it didn't happen a second time, she felt like she was just dreaming. Was this her fate, to remain her in a blizzard and die without Ash knowing about her true feelings? She didn't want that...but she couldn't see any other way out of this situation, she was cold and barely able to move.

"Pikachupi!" there was the cry again, this time she couldn't ignore it. Managing to push herself up in the snow, having forgotten about that damned rock again and this time cutting the palm of her hand. Blood was already rolling down from the cut on her arm and now the snow was being dyed red from her bleeding palm. Ignoring the pain as best as she could, she stood up weakly.

"Pikachu!" Misty called out as loud as her voice could manage, she needed the Mouse Pokemon to find her. As she could only assume that if Pikachu was alright then Ash was, right? Skin blue and ruby red blood dripping. she still felt very weak and near hypothermic now. Ignoring it still, she called once more with much more desperation in her voice. She needed to be found, more than anything now. "Pikachu!"

"Pikachupi," and there he was, the yellow and black mouse was running her way at high speeds and with complete focus on his destination. Reaching her in no time, he jumped into her arms and cried out in happiness. But near jumped back at the feel of the red liquid that was dribbling from the cut on her hand. Brown eyes widened at the sight of the cut, as he looked up at her with concern. "Pika pika!"

"I'm…. alright, Pikachu…" trying to act rather relaxed, she really wasn't right now, she wanted him to relax as well and move onto the more pressing matter of finding Ash. Gently petting the Pokemon with her injured hand, she continued to speak in her weak voice. "D-do you know w-where Ash is?" the stutters were involuntary, caused by the cold. Once the Pikachu gave an upset nod, she whispered in a desperate and shivery voice. "Can you t-take me to him…"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded, affirmatively. Pointing in the direction he came with his tail, he then began to sprint. With a small shudder, Misty pushed herself on. Snow was piling up on top of her but as she walked, it began to shake off and the movement was already beginning to warm her up with just the simple moving of her bones. Eventually, they came across a cliffside and fear built up within Misty's heart. Did Ash fall? No, Pikachu would have been more upset if that was a case. But the fear remained within her regardless of the unlikeliness.

Looking down over the edge, she saw a small icy ledge and standing on that platform was a very familiar face. Ash's Bulbasaur. He had his vines extended, preparing to lift them down. "Bulba-bulbasaur!" he called up, trying to make sure they were okay having noticed the red liquid that Misty had rolling down her arm and that was now dribbling down the edge of the cliffside due to her hand being on the ice above.

"Bulbasaur, we're fine so can you lift us down?" came Misty's answer, with a mild smile. The grass type complied, reaching up and gently wrapping his vines around Misty's bare waist. A mild wince was evident when he realized how cold it was, but he relaxed and tried not to show this to Misty in fear of upsetting her. It was clear to him that she didn't want anyone to worry about her, she cared more about how everyone else was. Once the vines were wrapped tightly, Misty weakly smiled and turned to the electric mouse next to her. "Pikachu, come on up…"

"Pika!" quickly, the electric type jumped up onto her shoulder as Bulbasaur began to pull her down to the platform he was standing on. Resting her feet on the platform, she felt stable to be back on firm ground again. Next to her was an icy 'wall', it was clearly not part of a cliff and seemed to be an entrance to a small cave. Maybe Ash had taken refuge within? Lucky for her, there was a small hole in the center of the 'wall'. Despite the hole being tiny, she was still petite herself and could slide through with minimum effort. She then helped Pikachu and Bulbasaur through.

On the other side, huddled up against the icy wall, was Ash, nearly asleep and hadn't even registered that she had entered in his drowsy state. A quick calling of his name aroused him, causing him to tilt his head in her direction and near gasp at the sight of her near-blue skin and badly bleeding arm. There was a load of concern filling his voice as he muttered his worries. "Misty…what? Why are you injured?"

"Following you, of course. You idiot..." she murmured, moving to sit down next to him. Resting her head in her knees, she continued. "You knew how dangerous it was to just run off…yet you still did it I was… so worried about you…" she gently breathed hot air onto her frost-bitten hands, though nothing seemed to work. Hugging herself now, she tried to conserve what was left of her body heat. "So cold…"

Ash couldn't watch her desperate attempts to warm up any longer, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in. Now he began to voice his concern over her freezing shoulders and injured arm and hand. "Your injured…, Misty, and you're so cold. How did this happen, surely you haven't been in the blizzard that long…?"

"…Well…" Misty turned away, sighing.

"Seriously, how long have you been out there?" Ash's voice was so serious, which was a huge surprise to the tangerine haired girl. Having never expected him to act like that, ever. He was just not the type to be serious, always being so peppy and energetic with little concern of dangers or anything on that concept.

"…Not sure…, about a half an hour maybe?" came her shivered response, closing her eyes and near tearing up. Her shivering was getting worse, even with Ash's attempts to warm them both up, and had begun to cause her to stutter even more. "I just w-wanted to make sure that you were a-alright…not c-caring what h-happened to me. As for the b-blood…, I a-accidently cut my hand on a rock h-hidden under the snow…"

Frowning, Ash pulled her in even closer. A faint blush formed on Misty's cheeks, but she didn't push him away as the embrace was warm and made her feel less shivery. It wasn't perfect, but much better. But an etching concern still violently clouded her mind and caused her to mouth her concerns to the raven-haired boy. "…Ash, do…do you think we'll make it out of this alive…?"

"Of course, don't think like that…," came Ash's hopeful reply, he wasn't completely certain himself. But he wasn't about to let her give up, they both had so much to live for.

"But…the blizzard's getting even worse…and even with this embrace, I'm still shaking…" it was true, regardless of how much Ash wanted to fight it. Yet, he still wanted to sooth the girl's worries and prevent her tears from falling as even now her eyes were clouding up and the sparkles of liquid could be clearly seen. "…I want to live, Ash…I want to say that we'll be fine…but…" her body shook with sobs, as tears drop onto Ash's cheeks – He had sat her on his lap to make the embrace more comfortable.

"Hey, stop. We'll be fine, I promise you," Ash's reply, trying to ease her tears. He had to be hopeful and brave for them both or they'd never survive this cold weather.

"Ash…" Misty whispered after a little while, having tried to let the words sink in. Her teeth were now chattering, and she was trying to hug him for even more warmth. "…I'm scared…"

"Shush, we'll be fine…" he spoke as he gently began to stroke her tangerine hair.

The only noise for a while were the chattering of Misty's teeth and Ash's Pokemon as they too tried to keep warm. Soon enough, Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle and Pidgeotto had all come over and snuggled against the two Pokemon trainers. Everyone's body heat together was beginning to help, but by now Misty was still giving up and wishing for her pain to just end. She could no longer ignore the pain of her injuries or her frostbitten fingers. Resting her head on Ash's shoulder, she began to feel her eyes closing even though she tried to fight it. Telling herself that she shouldn't, that Ash was right and that she shouldn't give up. But…the pull was strong, and she nearly did fall asleep until her crush's voice filled her ears. "Please…Mist, don't give on living. I know we're in a bad spot right now, but things. Things will get better, I swear."

Wasn't much, that was for certain, but it made Misty think. "…If we don't s-survive this, I w-want you to know…" cheeks began to become redder, somehow despite the cold. "Ash…I…I…" stupid worries of being rejected were filling her, but she could also fill the pull of sleep and she knew that she needed to get her feelings out there. "I…love…y-you…" with that said, she went limp and fell to sleep in Ash's arms.

Brain malfunctioning for a while, Ash tried to process what the unconscious girl had just said to him in her last words. 'I love you', it repeated over and over until it finally sunk in. "She…" finally, he gasped and looked down at her. She couldn't be? "Misty, hey…wake up!" no response, now he was worrying and felt like she was just going to die on him. "Misty, come on. You can't die now, you just can't! Not without hearing my reply…"

Sobs racked his body, as Pikachu and the others tried to comfort their trainer. The sight of a potential fallen friend was worrying them as well, but they were also concerned about Ash and how he was baring in this weather. Misty was worse off due being out in the blizzard for far longer, yes. But Ash was also suffering from the extreme weather condition. "Misty…" he whispered, before falling unconscious himself. Despite their cries of concern, it didn't take long before the cold effected the Pokemon as well. They were all exhausted and collapsed too.

* * *

Eyes blinked opened to see Brock above him, the rock type trainer appeared incredibly worried even with his eyes constantly shut. "Are you alright, Ash? You've been asleep for 2 days now?"

"…I'm fine…" came the reply, though it was still weak from the experience. A pressing concern left Ash's throat, as he looked up at Brock weakly. "How did you manage to find me?" he hadn't even realized the other pressing concern that was clouding his mind. "We were so far away…"

"I went searching after Misty run off, I eventually saw the blood splatters and followed them. I used Onix to get down the cliff and crack open the ice 'wall'. That's when I discovered you both, huddled together unconscious with your Pokemon surrounding you," the worry that was etched on the gym leader's face was clear. "You were lucky, Ash, to be breathing still as you were extremely hypothermic…"

A certain thing hit Ash like a train, as a worried gasp left his throat. He strained to say it, a small tear dripping off his face. Could his best friend, the girl who confessed her feelings for him before falling unconscious, be dead?! "What about Misty? You haven't said anything about her yet?!"

"Worse then you were, that's for certain. She's at the Fuchsia hospital right now, still unconscious and the doctors are worried that she may not survive. She was lucky to be alive when I discovered you, as she had already lost a lot of blood and was way more frostbitten and hypothermic.

"…But there's hope, right?"

"Not a lot…" came the concerned reply, Brock looked desperately sad. It was clear that he had nearly given up on Misty's chances of survival the moment the doctors had said it. "You should get some more rest. In your state, it'd be stupid to try and visit her. Besides it's not visiting hours right now, so you'd have to wait anyway."

Listening to what Brock said was one of the hardest things that Ash ever did, but he knew that he couldn't sacrifice his own health when he wouldn't be able to see her right away anyway. It didn't stop him worrying desperately, she had low chances of survival and with the state he had last seen her in. Even he was beginning to lose hope, but he held onto it.

* * *

The next day, Ash arrived at the Fuchsia hospital and requested Misty's room at the reception. During the walk, he and Pikachu talked about the state that Misty was in and how concerned they were for her survival. Would she survive? He had to hold onto whatever hope he could grasp, he wanted her to live so that he could tell her his feelings.

Nightmare. That's the biggest feeling that arouse in Ash's mind when he walked into Misty's hospital room. The girl was indeed sleeping still, hooked up to several different machines to keep her alive. In fact; one of the machines even clipped to a tube that was going down her throat, to keep her breathing regulated and alive. The whole scene made Ash physical sick, to think the strong and independent water specialist had been reduced to this was heartbreaking for the young Pokemon trainer.

He sat down on a stool next to her bed, looking at her unconscious body. She was wrapped up tight in blankets, trying to warm her body back up from the hypothermia that she had suffered. "Mist, I don't know if you can hear me. But…I just want to say, I'm happy that you told me how you feel. I would never have had the courage to confess first, so in a way I'm glad," he then broke down, tears rolling down from his chocolate eyes. "I just…wish that you hadn't said it when you thought you were about to die. And didn't even allow me to reply…please, Mist. Just wake up for me…I want to reply to your confession. I want you to know that…I love you too…"

He choked on his own words, looking at her through watery eyes. Not one movement, she hadn't even aroused to his tears. For a while, the only sounds that filled his head was the machine that tracked her heartrate. He feared that it would soon gave the final buzz and her heart would stop, just like that. "I should never have said to continue up the mountain…, if I hadn't then we wouldn't have walked into that blizzard. Pikachu wouldn't have blown away…and you wouldn't have chased after my stupid butt…"

Pikachu gently pressed his paw against his trainer's zig-zagged cheek, feeling the warm tears that flooded his face. He too desperately hoped that the girl would awaken, to say that she was alive and alleviate his trainer's cries of sorrow. "Pika…pikapi…"

"Pikachu…I'm scared that I'm going to lose her, without even confessing…I know that I've been a jerk to her ever since we met, but I love her dearly. I wonder how things would have changed if I never stole her bike…" he whispered, coming up with theories in his head to try to ease the pain of potentially losing the one he loved.

A groan filled his ears, causing him to snap his head over to Misty. Her body was twitching…hope filled him, was it possible that she would defy all expectations and live? Eventually, her eyelid twitched as well and soon opened to reveal those stunning viridian eyes. How he had so longed to see them once more open. Of course, their owner was still drowsy and barely keeping them open, but he didn't care about that. He was just happy that she was alive and well, mostly. "Oh, thank god Misty. You had been so worried…"

"W-what…" came her slurred, hoarse voice. Eyelids tight and the feeling like she had been hit by a Thunderbolt was making her even worse, but she couldn't stop herself from attempting to speak. "I, no…we s-survived?"

"Yes, we survived, Misty…we survived…," came his sobbed reply, as he pulled her up into a tearful hug. It was obvious that his tears were no long of sorrow, but of pure relief and happiness.

Despite how shocked she was to be held like this, Misty still gave a soft smile. "T-thank you, Ash…I probably would have collapsed a lot earlier…if you and the Pokemon hadn't been around…"

Finally, he released her from the hug and wiped his tears away. A thought came to him and he began to gently, with some worry and perhaps embarrassment. "Do you happen to remember the last thing you said before your fell unconscious?"

"…I…, what I said?" came the response, before something seemed to click in Misty's mind. A tomato red blush burst onto her cheeks, but she didn't deny it…she couldn't, not now that he knows. So, with a soft whisper of embarrassment. "…Yeah, I said 'I love you'… correct?"

"Yeah, do you want to hear my reply now?" There was fear in her eyes, she didn't want to be rejected. But she gave the nod to let him know to continue. But he didn't speak his reply, no. Instead, he closed the gap between them and let that do the talking. It wasn't a passionate kiss, but it was a loving and featherlight kiss that made Misty just melt and kiss him back. When they separate for air, he finally spoke. "I think that says it, I love you too."

Tears filled Misty's eyes, she just felt so happy. She rested her head on his chest and whispered in a soft sweet voice. "Thank you, Ash…"

Days later, she was released from the hospital and given the OK to continue her journey with Ash and Brock. Of course, she and Ash did eventually tell Brock about their romantic feelings for one another. But it took until they were caught kissing before they said anything. Until then, Pikachu had been the only one he knew. Despite their feelings for one another, it didn't stop their journey at any moment and it just proved to strengthen their bond. Often, it would allow them to win the battle when crisis hit them. But that's a story for another day.

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Alright, I hope you enjoyed this little one shot. I've been reading a load of different pokeshipping drama stories recently and just had to write my own. So I hope it can compare to some of the better fanfics out there.


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